Workshop Voices

The CSPA workshop as seen through the sometimes-startled eyes of the students

Counselor Mel Cassel, who came to pick me up from the Amtrak station, was younger than I had expected. Less than a year older than me, in fact. My dreams of a world-wise, whiskey- swilling counselor were crushed the minute I saw her sweet face.”— Carlee Jensen

“When I first arrived at Cal Poly I was stunned to see Santa Claus on campus in the middle of the summer. Before I started searching for sleighs and reindeer, I realized that I had only been looking at Steve Harvey, one of the workshop leaders.”— Steven Lau

‘You are greeted by a bed as comfortable as a sheet of bricks and blankets that could barely cover a toddler. Whenever you so much as breathe while sleeping, the covers and all the blankets immediately fall apart, leaving you shivering and unable to get any rest.”— Adam Robak

“A summary of one day’s events prompted a friend back home to ask, “Are you at journalism camp or fat camp?”— Hannah Song

“I have put blankets on the walls, forced my pillow into my ears, crawled underneath my sheets, counted sheep, and sang a song in my head to block out the entertainment people have at night. My bunk did not have a rail on the non-wall side, either because someone broke it or because someone stole it to sell on eBay. It was not very reassuring to know that I could roll over in my sleep and suddenly drop eight feet to the floor. Not to mention that the ride did not come equipped with seat belts.”— Arian Khansari

“I came across the intimidating task of trying to wash my hair. The shower nozzle barely reaches the height of my mid-torso, leaving no possible way for me to wash my hair except kneeling on the rough tile. The shower nozzle is not high enough for anybody taller than five feet, much less six feet, four inches.”— Liam Madden

“The guys’ rooms—four in total—are connected to one another by a central bathroom. There are only two toilets, which is perfectly fine unless all nine guys have a dire emergency at the same time. Then there are the showers …'”— Brendan Nguyen

“Oh, summer, how you’ve changed, and I hope you’re happy now. When I find myself with no task to do or people to please, I’m at a loss. Why can I not return to those simple days of being pleased with lying in the sun, or reading a book? Instead I crave the tension of deadlines.”— Lauren­Taflinger

“Okay. Forty minutes on the clock, plenty of time to write a news article. A 65-year-old was shot in the head by an 18-year old attacker. Boom, done. If only it was that simple. Why can’t my lede be that simple? Because the readers want to know the details and those “twenty dollar quotes.”— Tori ­Robertson

“Though the CSPA is formally known as the California Scholastic Press Association, it should actually be named the Crazy Students waiting for the Printer to Actually work.”— Rachelle­ Aguilera

“Who knew the ‘Wednesday Phenomenon’ was really just a day when people’s faces turned green and heads spun in circles as if on Disneyland’s Tea Cup ride?”— Mary­ Albertolle